Blindsight

Set in 2082, Peter Watts' Blindsight is fast-moving, hard SF that pulls readers into a futuristic world where a mind-bending alien encounter is about to unfold. After the Firefall, all eyes are locked heavenward as a team of specialists aboard the self-piloted spaceship Theseus hurtles outbound to intercept an unknown intelligence.

Other than his slightly-off pronunciation of a few words, I thought the narrator did a good job of portraying the moods and attitudes of the central character who had suffered a brain/mind altering surgerical procedure as a young child (to correct epilepsy). The surgery left him with a limited ablility to relate to or even to empathize with others. While these ablilities (as it is shown in the story) are not missing altogether, this limited ablility to "walk in another's shoes" makes him cold and unfeeling at times, but also bewildered at his lack of understanding of and connection to others. The whole story is seemingly set up to enhance that fact. Transitions and movement in the story from scene to scene was often hard to follow. In several instances I had difficulty making the leap with the author in the "action". I like a complicated and intricate plot, but this was something else that I find, even now, hard to put my finger on often asking myself: What just happened?

The Dog Stars

Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists beyond the airport.

Peter Heller writes such sweet, lyrical prose that it almost takes you out of the horror his characters are living. I loved that Hig, the story's teller, was still able to see so much natural beauty all around him even though the world had ended and been replaced with a nightmare. He also finds loveliness and a familial connection in the people he happens to meet who decide not to kill him just be cause he might be a threat to them, but wait to see if he might be worth trusting, worth saving, worth forming a bond with. He remains positive in a dark world and he finds light where it still exists, even when it might be hiding. Mark Deakins' narration was perfect. I look forward to more from this author and this narrator.

Before They Are Hanged: The First Law: Book Two

Bitter and merciless war is coming to the frozen north. It's bloody and dangerous and the Union army, split by politics and hamstrung by incompetence, is unprepared for the slaughter that's coming. Lacking experience, training, and in some cases even weapons, the army is scarcely equipped to repel Bethod's scouts, let alone his elite forces. In the heat-ravaged south, the Gurkish are massing to assault the city of Dagoska, defended by Inquisitor Glokta.

Joe Abercrombie has become tied with Patrick Rothfuss for my favorite living author. I love this series--blood, grit and swearing notwithstanding but essential--it is a story so well written and so well portrayed by the narrator that I know I will loathe its ending when I complete the last entry of the trilogy. Luckily for me, Joe has kept on writing and there are more books waiting for me.

The Blade Itself: The First Law: Book One

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain and shallow, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.

The character development is some of the best I have ever read. All the main characters are fleshed out with details that make them incredibly--and often very painfully--alive to the reader. Glockta's misery is palpable and unrelenting. Even small-role characters are given attention that makes the few lines dedicated to them seemingly speak volumes about them. This is the first book in a triology and I will definitely be getting the remaining books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Blade Itself?

I liked Logen deciding to pick up and carry the very ill novice all the way back to the Library. That decision spoke enormously to--and beyond--his thoughts that he did not want any more deaths laid to his hand if he could help it.

Gone Girl: A Novel

It is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media - as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents - the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter - but is he really a killer?

Both main characters were dispicable people. The narrators were both excellent in bringing that fact to light in a very creepy way. Layer by layer. I wanted a better ending to the story but I suppose there is enough information in the rest of the story to imagine the future of this couple.

Neuromancer

Twenty years ago, it was as if someone turned on a light. The future blazed into existence with each deliberate word that William Gibson laid down. The winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer didn't just explode onto the science fiction scene - it permeated into the collective consciousness, culture, science, and technology.Today, there is only one science fiction masterpiece to thank for the term "cyberpunk," for easing the way into the information age and Internet society.

I loved Robertson Dean' s rich narrator's voice and style. The story was OK.

Any additional comments?

I didn't love this story nor am I compelled to read the rest of the trilogy. I am not attracted to "underworld" stories or characters. I admired the creativity of W. Gibson's storytelling and his writing ability. And of course I am aware of his foresight into the furture/present world.

Ready Player One

At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, Ready Player One is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.

What made the experience of listening to Ready Player One the most enjoyable?

I really like listening to Wil Wheaton. He has a pleasant, well-modulated voice and captured the essence of the characters without being intrusive into the listening experience.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Wade very much. He was able to grow and change as the story went on into a more and more likeable person who just happened to be superhuman at gaming and computer skills.

What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wil's characterization and presentation of all the characters was spot-on! I could listen to him all day; in fact, I practically did do that while cleaning my house one weekend while also listening to this story.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

I was initially only curious about the manner in which the author would blend historical fact with fantastical fiction. That part satisfied, I continued to listen to the end, but was not thrilled with the story overall. The narrator's choice of narrative style quickly became annoying: a sing-songy, no contractions style. Approximately the first half of the story held my attention but after that point I began to lose interest. I think that the character of Henry Sturgis was the breaking point for me because even though he only "ate" the aged and sickly, he remained a monster still, taking upon himself the decision to end someone's life to save his own. *Spoiler Alert* I very much objected to the ending because Lincoln could not have been clearer about his abhorrence for "turning" one of his loved ones so I cannot help but believe he would have felt the same about being turned himself.

The Wise Man's Fear: Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 2

"My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep...."

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